In Ning Qi's small courtyard.
The roars of exotic beasts, sometimes deep, sometimes sharp, occasionally sounded. If anyone were here, they would surely be dumbfounded.
Ning Qi's eyes were focused, his whole being completely immersed in the world of stance skills.
He sometimes howled like a Bian, sometimes leaped like a Suanni, sometimes stabilized the sea like a Ba Xia, and sometimes crossed water like a Qiu Niu...
The True Martial Nine Stances had been practiced by him to the point where their execution was naturally seamless, even the switch of Divine Intent was extraordinarily smooth—from the Bian Stance to the Chiwen Stance, the nine originally distinct stance skills seemingly became one, as if integrated.
If the true disciples were to witness this, they would probably start questioning their existence.
Ning Qi's eyes were bright.
In his mind, inspirations continually emerged.
"Not enough! Still not enough!"
"I may seem like I've integrated the nine stance skills, but in reality, this is mere appearance. Although enhancing them has increased Quenching Skin efficiency, it's far from my expectations and still hasn't surpassed the category of superior stance skills."
Ning Qi practiced stance skills while contemplating, requiring barely any thought at his level; he simply followed his instincts.
At this moment.
Ning Qi's skin membrane constantly pulsated, appearing intimidating, with the reddened membrane now tinged with iron color, full of strong texture.
Ten days passed.
He astonishingly advanced further, reaching the Iron Skin Realm, a state where swords and blades were hard to harm him.
Despite being young, his combat power surpassed many adults.
This cultivation speed was already extremely fast, but Ning Qi was still unsatisfied.
"There's an apparent pattern among the True Martial Nine Stances; merely merging the surface isn't enough, the key lies in the Divine Intent!"
After stepping into the Iron Skin Realm yesterday, Ning Qi's perception of the True Martial Nine Stances became distinctly different.
The process of Body Tempering was also the process of comprehension.
Standing high and seeing far.
If Ning Qi were in the Inner Essence Realm at this moment, having fully experienced the Body Tempering process, he thought understanding the relationship between the True Martial Nine Stances might only take a quarter of an hour, possibly even less.
Regardless of how strong perceptions are, they require sufficient cognition and foundation to support.
After all, stance skills aren't just about refining skin, but encompass the entire Body Tempering process.
However.
Ten days of research was enough.
The inspirations in Ning Qi's mind grew rampant, his thoughts moved, Divine Intent bestowed upon him, continually switching, and eventually, merging—not forcefully but selecting the essence and transforming into new matter.
"The fierce spirit of Bian, the thickness of Ba Xia, the agility of Chaofeng, the steadiness of Qiu Niu, the ferocity of Vengeance..."
"The dragon gives birth to nine sons, each different, but all originate from the body of the True Dragon!"
"Returning to the source, it's... True Dragon!"
The moment Ning Qi comprehended.
The roars of exotic beasts inside the courtyard vanished, replaced by a majestic dragon roar.
Ning Qi's sweat evaporated abruptly, shrouded by white mist, obscuring his true form, each move gradually transforming, deriving from True Martial Nine Stances but fundamentally different, appearing from afar like a juvenile true dragon leaping in the mist.
Ning Qi felt incredibly exhilarated.
This was a stance skill he created himself, naturally reaching the highest realm instantly, and at this moment, Body Tempering efficiency skyrocketed once again, feeling doubled from before!
"Joy! Joy! Joy!"
Ning Qi's heart laughed freely.
He didn't pause, continuing until exhaustion, before reluctantly jumping into the pre-prepared medicinal bath.
Closing his eyes.
Ning Qi still felt some excitement.
This sense of accomplishment from solving a problem after thoughtful pondering was as rewarding as a breakthrough in realms, if not more, akin to solving a challenging math problem in high school from his past life, but even surpassing that.
"Now I can be certain, beyond the True Martial Nine Stances there's definitely a stronger stance skill!"
"In a way, I deduced it inversely, I wonder if the True Dragon Stance I created matches the original version, whether it's stronger or weaker?"
"Perhaps... I should consult Master?"
This thought arose naturally.
But he felt he might not get an answer.
He had heard from Senior Brother Luo Wentian previously that Master Taoist Longshan's True Martial inheritance seemed incomplete, missing some core elements.
Moreover.
Based on Ning Qi's understanding of Taoist Longshan.
He believed his master wasn't someone who would hold back; if there existed stronger stance skills than the True Martial Nine Stances, they would surely have been revealed already.
Nevertheless, he planned to find a time to ask, in case such a stance skill existed, allowing mutual validation with the True Dragon Stance he created, possibly strengthening it further.
Although True Dragon Stance could already be called unparalleled stance skill, Ning Qi still wanted to see if it could be further enhanced.
Moreover.
Ning Qi felt necessary to inform Taoist Longshan about his cultivation progress, which was crucial for earning more freedom later.
For the other senior brothers and sisters, he didn't plan on revealing his current realm yet.
Ning Qi feared demoralizing them.
For the other senior siblings it's manageable, they remained usual upon subsequent meetings, but the eighth senior brother was peculiar, later Ning Qi found out when visiting Qin Yun, he had entered seclusion again.
"Could it be he felt stimulated?"
Ning Qi was puzzled, intending to check on it later.
"Upon Master's emergence, let's first discuss the True Martial Stances and the improvement of Body Tempering Powder."
Ning Qi cleared distractions, emptied his mind, focused solely on the medicinal bath.
A burning prickling sensation emanated from the skin membrane, yet he savored it, a sign of gradual empowerment.
Time passed in the blink of an eye.
Another eight days passed.
Instead of waiting for Taoist Longshan's emergence, Ning Qi first stepped into the Jade Skin Realm.
From Stone Skin to Iron Skin took ten days, but from Iron Skin to Jade Skin actually needed only eight days, one of which was spent revisiting the previous three realms, demonstrating the prowess of True Dragon Stance.
Ning Qi curiously examined his skin surface.
Fair as jade, completely different from before.
Jade Skin Realm was the realm of perfect skin refining, blades difficult to injure, capable of withstanding massive impacts, both strong and flexible.
Additionally, Ning Qi cultivated the unparalleled True Dragon Stance, his foundation far firmer than that of others.
"Next is the Flesh Refining Realm!"
"Honestly, reaching perfect skin refining took me merely a month, even less, if this pace continues, a realm a month, wouldn't I complete the Great Body Tempering Realm in a year thus forming Inner Essence?"
Ning Qi first felt delight, then shook his head.
"No, Body Tempering starts easy and gets tougher, more time needed the further, especially deeper realms within the body requiring caution."
"My current speed owes fundamentally to comprehending Divine Intent Perfection stance skills upon entering the Martial Path, even crafting an unparalleled True Dragon Stance."
"But consider, the eighth senior brother equally excellent, encountering Martial Path at seven years old; perhaps three to four years were enough for him to reach Divine Intent Perfection with Vengeance Stance, yet still, he spent eleven years completing Body Tempering to generate Inner Essence—the difficulty of later realms apparent."
"My speed will nonetheless be much faster; my Martial Path has just begun, there'll be more time for creating techniques to expedite."
"True Dragon Stance isn't my limit."
Ning Qi's gaze was resolved and confident.